an Echo of Light

Author

Anaka Marie Wetch, Bard CollegeFollow

Date of Submission

Spring 2020

Academic Program

Film and Electronic Arts

Project Advisor 1

Ben Coonley

Abstract/Artist's Statement

My senior project film an Echo of Light is an experimental 16mm film exploring light as both a metaphysical and physical process. I became interested in light during my studies in holography, which is a medium revolving around the interference of light. I studied holography independently and with the guidance of professionals in the field. My holographic work is oriented around the natural world and its micro-constituents. I examined and photographed substances, such as salt, pyrite, and quartz with the scanning electron microscope at Bard. These materials have striking crystalline geometry which I intend to explore through the light dependent medium of holography. I chose to shoot an Echo of Light on 16mm film because of the physicality of the medium and the quality at which it records light. In addition, a reverence of the analog has been a prevalent motif in my work and process. From restoring an analog stereogram to creating holograms using optics and lasers, my process during the making of this film was geared towards the physical. Light is a transformative energy of immense flexibility and meaning. In watching an Echo of Light I hope that the audience will be granted a brief respite from anxieties of everyday and perhaps contemplate their connection to the physical and metaphysical veins of life itself. In conclusion, within this film I intend to evoke the relationship between the self and something beyond in an abstracted form through the manipulation of light. Originally, my senior project was an installation which would include my holographic art works and showcase my film. Due to the unfortunate unforeseen circumstances of the pandemic I was unable to complete the project in the way I had intended. However, my film an Echo of Light stands on its own and may be seen in isolation from the microlandscape series of holograms. I plan on completing my microlandscape holography series and installation in the near future and showcasing it somewhere around Bard. My sincere gratitude to the following individuals to supported me along the way: Kajsa Ceder, Stanley Wetch, Karen and Dan Pritzker, Catherine and Vidy Ravenborg, Hart and Dana Perry, Melissa Crenshaw, Bill Molteni, Hudson Talbott, Peggy Ahwesh, Ben Coonley, Richard Suchenski, Matthew Sargent, Ephraim Asili, Ruth Turk, and Marc Shreibman.

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Wetch, Anaka Marie, "an Echo of Light" (2020). Senior Projects Spring 2020. 180.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2020/180